


Some Places Wild

by PaperJu



Series: Strange things happen for no reason [4]
Category: Among Us (Video Game)
Genre: It's just pure fluff, Multi, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, You Have Been Warned, brief mention of sex but it's not graphic at all and it's played for laugh, can be read as a standalone don't worry, dare i say, found family is my jam, i wrote this instead of working on my master's thesis, it's just a bunch of little scenes glued together, nothing really happen except they get a cat, the crew fixes an old outpost and lives in it and that's all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:40:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27701501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaperJu/pseuds/PaperJu
Summary: The crew arrives on an abandonned, very run-down Outpost, and decides to settle down.It takes time, like all things do, but they will get here, eventually.
Relationships: Black/Pink (Among Us), Blue/White (Among Us)
Series: Strange things happen for no reason [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967029
Comments: 42
Kudos: 93





	Some Places Wild

**Author's Note:**

> It’s very soft and indulgent but I think we need soft and indulgent things in the world rn
> 
> Quick run-down for people who don’t want to read the other fics that lead to this one (and I completely understand them): Black is a bad impostor. Black gets adopted by the crew. The crew collectively says FUCK MIRA and runs away to live on an abandoned Outpost located on a small planet. That’s it. 
> 
> Title is taken from the song “Sparks” by The Do. Great soundtrack for this fic tbh, you should check it out. 
> 
> As always, feel free to point out any mistakes/typos it really helps me! <3 
> 
> (Also: can you believe I spent 8 hours building the outpost of this fic in the sims??)

* * *

_We like to keep_

_Some places wild_

_Like battlefields_

_Where no one fights_

_The road that we share_

_The air that we breathe_

_The treasures we hide_

_Here and there._

* * *

The Outpost was. Well, not in good shape, to say the least.

It was an understatement. The Outpost was a disaster. Built on the side of a mountain that loomed over a small valley where a stream of icy water flowed, the Outpost had suffered the brunt of the elements and the passage of time not _gracefully_. Most of the outside walls were cracked, and thick layer of climbing ivy covered large portions of the concrete. A lot of the windows were splintered, and the glass roof of the Observatory had been completely destroyed by a falling branch that now took most of the space in the room.

This Outpost must have looked beautiful in the past, Pink thought, looking at the room Yellow had asked them to clean up. But now… They had a long way to go before the building could be deemed suited for living.

Black was slowly gathering a small pile of broken glass in a corner with a broom. The wind was howling in the hallway, and Purple was loudly protesting in an adjacent room about the amount of dust they were breathing.

They had arrived two days ago, in the middle of the night. They had landed the ship on a flat piece of land on the other side of the mountain, and waited for the lone sun of the planet to rise. Huddled in front of the window in the Cafeteria, they all watched in silence as the sky turned pink and gold, and even Blue had stayed quiet, for once.

It was beautiful. It wasn’t the first time either of them saw a nice sunrise, but there was a small amount of solemnity in the air. It was their first dawn on the planet. In their new home.

But the solemnity quickly disappeared, as Blue and Green started cracking jokes and chanting “House tour house tour!”, and Yellow had sighted, already tired and cranky.

The atmosphere was breathable, thankfully, and it was hot enough for them to go out without any supplementary layers. Purple had rambled about the high level of oxygen during the whole hike, and even Red had seemed annoyed. 

Pink immediately liked the Outpost, despite its neglected state. The building was surrounded by pines (Black was the one who told them so), shrubberies and rocks, and could only accessed through a narrow path along the side of the mountain. It was peaceful and the air was crisp, “invigorating” Purple had said, their eyes glued on their tablet, reading the notes about the planet they had prepared.

There was a landing platform on the Outpost, but it was preferable to avoid it until they had checked the sturdiness of the wall and floors, Yellow said when Green asked why they hadn’t landed closer to the building.

The front door was easily opened, the rusty lock falling to the floor as soon as Yellow grabbed the handle. The entrance was empty, save from some dusty crates and two propane tanks. Next was the living space, with dirty couches, rickety tables and chairs, and an absolutely disgusting kitchen.

They separated in three groups to cover more ground, and after an hour of exploration, they were back in the living space. Purple started drawing a crude map of the Outpost when everyone reported what they had seen. 

“So living space and kitchen, pantry, med bay, two offices on the first floor. Communal bathroom and toilets, seven bedrooms, green house and utility room on the second floor. Communication room, Observatory on the third floor. Electric meter and boiler room are in the basement. Good?”

Everyone had nodded, and starting this moment, they dedicated their time cleaning and fixing the building. It was painfully slow. They started by checking the electric meter and the boiler room, to make sure everything was okay. Pink and White tinkered for two hours while Yellow and Green checked the solar panel on the roof.

Thankfully, everything was still in good condition. They only had to clean or replace some components, and when White pushed the electricity switch and the light bulb of the basement lighted up, Pink had smiled, relieved. The days were pretty long on this planet, but still. Working in the dark was not a great option.

They opened all of the windows to bring some fresh air and get rid of the stale, molded atmosphere, and Yellow made a planning to give everyone something to do. Clearing the rooms was a slow process, especially when they discovered that small animals had decided to make themselves at home in the abandoned Outpost, and were not ready to give it up.

Red’s emergency kit was inaugurated by Blue, who received a mean bite when they tried to grab one of the small animals to put it outside.

“I hope it doesn’t get infected” Red muttered while putting a bright pink band-aid on Blue’s heavily disinfected finger.

It was their first incident, and Blue laughed more than they cried. The small animals (“They are called _mice_. And _rats_ ” Purple told them later) quickly realized their home was compromised, and left during the first night.

They slept in the ship that night, and got up early in the morning. Yellow had to drag a sleepy Purple to the Cafeteria by the foot, and Blue arrived at the table still wrapped up in their blanket.

The second day passed like the first: there was too much to do, and not enough time. Purple assured them they still had at least three months of nice weather before the warm season ended, but still. The nights were cold, even if it was hot during the day, and nobody wanted to live on the ship for this long.

At the end of the second day, the living space and the kitchen were as clean as they could be. Black was banned from the room because of their allergies to the cleaning products, and Green kept them company in the Green House, where they were supposed to clear the space and make of list of what was available.

Green was more interested in asking very personal questions about Black’s relationship with Pink (“are you smashing son?”), but still, Black managed to get things done.

The third day, they started cleaning the other rooms. Nothing could be done about the splintered windows or the cracked walls, for now, but still, they could try to make the space livable.

And now Pink was scrubbing the floor with a rag, a bucket of warm water mixed with sanitizer next to them. Black had retreated to the corridor with their broom, and they sometimes passed their head through the door to check on Pink. It was cute.

Green was singing in the room next door, and Orange was whistling. Pink knew Red and Purple were cleaning up the Med Bay, and Blue, Lime and Yellow were in the bathroom (the worst room, in Pink’s opinion, and they were glad it wasn’t them stuck in it). White was on the ship with Cyan, trying to pack their belongings. The Outpost was not child-friendly (yet).

The walls were covered with rusty sheet-metal, and cleaning them was going to be annoying. But the room itself was nice, Pink decided.

“Hey Black” Pink called, rising from the floor to check if they had forgotten a spot. Black’s head appeared in the door opening, curiosity floating across their face. Pink made a sweeping gesture to show off their work.

“What do you think? It could be our room, no?”

Black looked pensively at the space Pink was showing, and nodded. The room was not very big, but there was a nice large window on a wall, and some shelving space on another that would be perfect for some potted plants. And the best thing was that the room was oriented north, so no direct sunlight during the day: no risk of the room turning into an oven in case of heat waves.

Pink smiled when Black nodded more enthusiastically, and got back to work, scrubbing the wall to clean the rust. Black had finished sweeping the hallway, and they pondered for a bit, trying to remember which tasks was deemed urgent by Yellow.

When they crossed the corridor to reach the staircase leading to the third floor, Lime came out of the bathroom screaming something about “dirty insects crawling all over my legs”. They almost collided, and Lime took refuge behind Black immediately.

“There is a huge freaky thing in one of the shower stalls” Lime explained, and Yellow burst out of the bathroom, a mop in one hand, a tired look on their face.

“Get back in here, kid, we are not done” They asked, with more patience that they usually showed. In the bathroom, a scream that sounded a lot like Blue echoed.

“Kill the big insect and I will come back” Lime muttered, still hiding behind Black, as if they could protect them against _spiders_.

Spiders were, as the crew slowly discovered, very scary when you weren’t expecting them to show up. Purple had said multiple times that they weren’t venomous, and they were more scared of the crew that the crew was scared of them, but still. Black totally understood Lime’s attitude, and they didn’t move.

Yellow rolled their eyes. They were probably the only ones who weren’t fazed by the horrifying wildlife that had settled comfortably in the dark corners of the Outpost. Even Red had said “nope” and backtracked when they had found a nest of cockroaches in one of the Med Bay’s cabinets.

Black glanced at Lime, who was seconds away from bolting to the door and escape the Outpost and Yellow’s gnawing; they glanced back at Yellow.

“I’m going to clean the Green House, Lime can come with me” Black suggested, an olive branch Yellow was kind enough to take.

“Go on” they waved their free hand around, and retreated back into the bathroom. Black heard them ask Blue what was going on, and why they were screaming, and Lime clutched Black’s arm, visibly relieved.

“Thanks. I hate the bathroom. It’s so… damp” Lime sighted, scrunching their nose in disgust. Black laughed, a little bit, and started walking toward the staircase, Lime still clinging to their arm, as if a monstrous spider was going to attack them at any second.

The Green House was spacious, and very bright. The glass roof was still intact despite the years, and sunlight streamed across the room, warming up the place. It was a double-edged sword for Black: they hated the heat, but the heat was good for the plants.

The room was almost empty, save from a pile of planters in one corner, two tables with a bunch of tools in poor conditions, rusty and dirty and probably completely useless. It was okay; Black planned on bringing the tools they had on the ship the next day.

Lime looked around, probably checking for spiders and other awful insects, and nodded.

“It’s nice. You have a lot of space!” Lime was lifting up some bags that contained potting soils. “Ohhh it’s dirty I hope there is no spiders… I forgot my broom, fuck.”

A voice that sounded suspiciously like Red whispered “Language!” in Black’s head, and they smiled. Lime ran back downstairs to fetch their broom, and when they came back, they had a pile of snacks balanced in one hand, two soda cans in the other, and the aforementioned broom tucked under their arm.

“Orange gave me these” Lime explained, smiling broadly, their fear of spiders apparently forgotten.

* * *

“Team, emergency meeting!” Yellow roared, their voice echoing in the empty rooms of the Outpost. Beside them, Red winced.

“We really need to come up with a new system for that, my eardrums are going to burst one day” they commented, and Yellow grimly nodded, probably adding this particular problem to the long list of issues they were still trying to fix.”Maybe a bell or something.”

Their tablets were still useable for communication, but still, the small amount of electricity the solar panels provided was not enough to recharge all of them. So they took turn, and avoided using the chat function to keep the battery full for as long as they could. It was annoying, but Pink was working in the basement, replacing the component to avoid any losing power.

The generator was still functioning, once they cleaned it up, but the big problem was the fuel. They could take the one reserved for the ship’s engines, but what if they needed to leave the planet? Yellow had been scratching their head for five days, trying to come up with a solution.

The stairs creaked when the members of the crew arrived, all of them still holding a broom, a mop, or a rag. Yellow rapidly counted them to make sure everybody was here.

“Where are Blue and Pink?” they asked, and White shrugged, Cyan perched on their shoulders.

The Outpost was still not child-friendly, but they were working on it. 

“They were working in the basement, they probably didn’t hear you” White said, putting their kid on the floor so they could roam freely in the (cleaned-up) living space. Purple yawned, and sat down at the (also cleaned-up, and fixed) table. They were tired, like everybody else. Five days of non-stop working do that to a person.

As always when Pink was mentioned, Black perked up and looked around, looking for the love of their life with eagerness in their eyes. Yellow would have groaned, if they secretly didn’t find it very cute.

“Black, go look for them, we are starting the meeting without them, Red will fill you in” and with that, Black bolted toward the basement’s door, and Green snickered, apparently very amused by their impostor’s fierce dedication to Pink.

“Galaxy’s deadliest species my ass” Green whispered, and Red smacked them on the head for saying a bad word in front of Cyan.

They all sat around the table, in the mismatched chairs or uncomfortable stools, and Yellow cleared their throat before putting their hands in front of them, seriousness all over their face. It was an expression everyone had learned to recognize: the Leader’s face. Yellow was about to say unpleasant things and make them all reconsider their life choices.

Purple curled up in a little ball on their chair, trying to make themselves look smaller, and Lime pretended to be absolutely entranced by the scratched metal of the table. The only ones who didn’t look worried were Red and Orange, not surprisingly.

Yellow’s idea of pillow talk was probably making a list of everything’s wrong with the crew, Green though, picking idly at the ugly scratch an encounter with an angry raccoon had left on their arm. Green had found the animal pretty cute, and despite Purple’s warnings, they had tried to pet it.

Bad idea. Raccoons were not made to be petted, apparently.

“Let’s start with a quick recap of what we accomplished these past five days” Yellow started, pulling Green out of their raccoon’s related thoughts. Everybody nodded with varying degrees of enthusiasm. “The power’s back on, even if only the solar panels can generate power for now. We are working on the fuel’s problem.”

Lime discreetly yawned and rubbed their eyes. Everyone was tired, but Lime was younger, and less used to working twelve hours a day.

“Most of the Outpost’s rooms are clean. We can start moving in at the end of the week. There are seven bedrooms, please don’t fight over who gets the best one. White and Blue will get the bigger one, since they have to sleep with their child. Pink and Black are probably going to ask to be paired together. Red refuses to sleep in the same bed as me, for an unknown reason, so they get a room.”

“You hog the blanket. And Orange snores.” Red supplied, and everybody (except Yellow) laughed.

“Okay, Green and Purple, do you want to sleep in the same room?” Yellow asked, and the concerned parties looked at them with a mix of surprise (Purple) and exasperation (Green).

“Yellow, I can finally have my own room after spending _months_ sleeping with all of you, you don’t even have to ask” Green sighed, looking longingly at the ceiling.

“Does that mean I can put my collections of space rocks in my room?” Purple asked, hopeful, and Yellow nodded, slowly, as if they were asking themselves if it was _truly_ a great idea to let Purple brings a bunch of weird rocks to the Outpost.

“Okay, that’s settled. Lime?” Yellow was crossing some names on their tablet, and didn’t even glance up, expecting the young one to have more or less the same answer as Green. Yellow remembered very clearly how annoying it was to have to share a bedroom with a bunch of strangers when they were younger.

“Uhhhh” Lime muttered, looking everywhere but at their crewmates.

White tilted their head, wordlessly encouraging Lime to go on.

“I. Don’t really want to sleep alone. If that’s okay. I kind of… Get scared? I don’t know maybe it’s just because I’m not used to the Outpost, or because everything is kind of… Not in great condition?” Lime’s voice was very small. Almost as if they were worried they were being annoying.

“Purple?” Yellow asked, looking very hard at the aforementioned crewmate, daring them to refuse.

“No problem! If you don’t mind the space rocks, that is” Purple immediately said, with an encouraging smile, and White chuckled.

“I don’t mind if you don’t make fun of my bottle’s caps collection” Lime smiled, obviously relieved, and everyone kind of laughed.

“A perfect match” Orange commented, and it was decided, the two compulsive collectors would stay together and not bother anyone else with their weird collections. “Anything else, Yellow?”

Yellow looked at their tablet, and sighted. “Well, we are going to run out of rations one day or another”.

“In four months, to be precise” Red added.

“Yes thank you babe. Four months. We need to figure out a way to get the food processor going.”

A heavy silence fell on the table. “The what?” Purple asked, confused.

Unfortunately, the missing members of the crew appeared in the living space at the exact moment Yellow opened their mouth to answer.

“Team, I just had the best idea _ever_ ” Blue announced. As always, they were incapable of making their voice go lower than _fucking loud_. “What if we put tubes all around the place, like plastic tubes you know, and we let mice go in those tubes? Like some sort of – what, is something wrong with my face?”

White, completely smitten, smiled at their absolute dumbass of a partner. People say that love is blind, after all. Yellow puts their face on their hands and groaned loudly. Behind Blue, Pink and Black were holding hands, and they were covered in cobwebs and dust.

“What happened?” Red asked, eyeing critically the dirty footprint the three crewmates had left behind them. “I’ve just scrubbed the floor; please try not to make a mess.”

“Okay mom” Blue said, rolling their eyes and sighting like the rebellious teenager they were not.

“We were talking about the rations problem” Yellow tried to bring the conversation back to serious territory. “And I was about to explain what a food processor is.”

“Oh, you mean the weird machine in the pantry?” Pink was busy dusting off their arms above the sink while Black tried to get rid of the cobweb adorning their head, but they were still listening to the conversation.

“Yeah. I worked on one of those when I started the job” Yellow explained. “It’s a slow process, but it’s easy. We just need the right ingredients.” And with that, they tapped something on their tablet, and passed it to Red.

“Dry powder, gelatin, sugar, dry oat” Red read out loud. “We have these on the ship, but not a lot. Maybe we need to take a little trip to another Outpost. A least to get what we need for the cold season.”

“Until we are totally independent, that’s the easiest solution” Orange added, thoughtful. “It may take us a year or two to be autonomous.”

“And with the ships’ keys I stole, we can make as many trips as we want.” That was Green, proud as ever.

Yellow nodded, visibly content of the solution. They crossed something on their tablet, and rubbed their eyes.

“About the fuel…” a small voice, coming from Lime, made them look up. “I think I have an idea.”

* * *

“I can’t believe I have to say this but _please_ , no sex in the bathroom.”

Red was tired. And it showed. Pink winced, and Black looked down.

The Med Bay was a narrow room with no window, only two rest beds, a desk, and some cabinets on the wall. No sittings except from the chair on front of the desk, so Black had to stay on their feet. Served them right, Red though.

“You have a room now. So no acrobatic sexual stuff in the very slippery bathroom stalls.” Red didn’t mean to shame them, but seriously, Pink had broken their ankle. Maybe not broken, they were still waiting for the antiquity that was the scanning machine to give the results, but they were injured for sure.

Kids these days. Their room was not even that far away from the bathroom, couldn’t they have waited for five more minutes?

“Sorry” Black mumbled, looking very embarrassed and sad.

“I thought doctors were supposed to be non-judgmental” Pink said, because they were not as easily shamed as their poor partner. “And I’m feeling very judged right now” they added, and Red threw them a stern glance.

The scanning machine biped, and Red finally received the results on their tablet.

“Okay, it’s not broken, just swollen. Keep the ice pack on your ankle, and don’t move.”

Pink grumbled, and shifted on the bed, trying to find a good position on the shitty bed. It was not Red’s fault the Med Bay was so scarce, but still, they felt a little bad. Pink was not good with inaction.

“At least for an hour. Or two. And you are officially discharged from any tasks today. Enjoy your break” Red added, hoping the perspective of not dealing with electrical bullshit would be enough for Pink to stop frowning.

Pink waved a hand, prompting Black to slide right next to them, and they grabbed each other’s hands. “Sorry” Black repeated, and Pink laughed.

“Nah, it’s not your fault. Or rather, it’s _our_ fault. But it was worth it” they said, like the absolute daredevil they were.

“I have to go, Green needs my help in Communications.” Red got up from their chair and clipped their tablet to their belt. “You two better not try to have sex in _my_ Med Bay. The bed is not going to survive this.”

Pink just laughed, and Black sat down with multiples precautions next to them. The bed creaked. Red glared at them very hard before leaving, hoping their advice had not been for nothing.

If not, well. The bed could still be fixed.

“What happened?” Green asked when Red arrived in the Communication room.

Red scratched their chin. On one hand, yes, doctors were supposed to stay non-judgmental and medical secrecy was a thing. On the other hand, it was _very_ funny. 

“Pink and Black had sex in the shower, and Pink slipped and sprained their ankle.”

As expected of Green, they laughed so hard they started crying. 

* * *

“I thought the Outpost was creepy but this really takes the cake” Green said, waving their flashlight around to take a good look of the room.

“Yeah, MIRA only knows two styles: creepy mad scientist basements and depressing futuristic modernism” Blue commented, and that got a laugh out of Yellow of all the people.

Lime’s idea was great. And Yellow was a bit ashamed they hadn’t thought about it sooner. Every Outpost was built to be perfectly autonomous, so it didn’t make sense that this one in particular didn’t have any ways of producing fuel. Lime was smart, so they had dug up the file White had sent them about the Outpost, and searched for any mention of fuel’s supplies, and bam, here it was, in very small letters at the end of the eighth page.

A fucking refinery, Green thought, a bit in awe. Not so far away from the Outpost, barely a ten minutes walk, a very ugly building hidden behind a bunch of trees ( _pines_ ) and rocks, no windows and almost entirely covered in ivy.

Green had to kick out the door, because the lock was blocked and even Blue’s lock picking talents didn’t work. When Yellow had asked where the fuck Blue had learned how to do that, the sneaky bastard had smiled innocently and shrugged. Fine, keep your secrets, Green had mumbled under their breath before kicking the door as hard as they could.

“You only want me on the team for my muscles” Green complained, and Yellow didn’t even dignify them with an answer.

So they were exploring the refinery, trying to find the electrical panel, because it was very dark in here, and Green was glad they didn’t bring Pink along.

“Tadaaaa” Blue chanted when they flipped the switch, and nothing happened. Disappointed, Blue glared accusingly at the electrical panel, and below them, on the first level, Yellow sighed very loudly.

“There are no solar panels to power the building, Blue” Yellow started climbing the ladder leading to the small platform the two other crewmates were standing on.

“So we came here for nothing?” Green complained, thinking about the room that they just started decorating that was now _their room_. “Great thinking, ô fearless leader.”

Yellow’s face was not visible in the dark, but they were probably making an irritated expression. Green pointed their flashlight in their direction, and saw them sling their backpack on the floor to take out a small can of what was probably fuel.

“I’m not stupid, I thought about it before we left, and I took some fuel from our reserves.” Yellow sounded smug, all right, they deserved it.

The generator was dusty, but in good condition, because the small refinery was basically a bunker and nothing had been broken except some pipes on the outside walls that could easily be fixed. Yellow poured the fuel, punched some buttons, and soon enough, a deep rumbling sound echoed and made the platform tremble, the whole building slowly coming to life, flickering light bulbs and beeping machineries.

Blue whooped. “It’s kind of ironic, to use fuel to make more fuel” Green noted, and Yellow ignored them, making a beeline to the other side of the platform to take a good look at the main machine.

It was big, and Green was not an expert on fuel manufacturing process, but they were pretty sure you were supposed to put the. Uh. Petroleum ? MIRA had a lot of it; mining on every planet they could find to fuel their endless armada of ships. So there was a bunch of oil can on the first floor, sealed and still good to use, because after a few decades (or centuries) of digging up the black liquid, MIRA knew how to conserve it.

So. Petroleum in the machine so it could be heated up and distilled. To get rid of eventual dirt that could make the generator explode. And bam, fuel! Technology was amazing. MIRA even invented a special product that destroyed the polluting compounds of the oil. Which was great, Green wasn’t keen on ruining the planet’s whole ecosystem just because they wanted some central heating during the cold season.

* * *

Orange pocked their head through the door of the bedroom they shared with Yellow. It was still a bit empty, with a bed, two or three plastic crates with their stuff in it, some shelves on the wall, a desk in the corner, and that was it. Nothing fancy, but it was private, at least.

Yellow was standing in the middle of the room, hands on their hips, head cocked, eyes fixed on the wall behind the bed.

“Something’s wrong?” Orange asked, because Yellow was never this idle, except in their sleep (and even then, they kicked and turned around and were basically a very agitated sleeper).

“I kinda want to paint the wall” Yellow said, turning their head to look at them.

Orange looked at the grayish brown wall, sheet metal cleaned up but still a bit damaged, and yes, it was a good idea. “What color?” they asked, stepping into the room to put their chin on Yellow’s shoulder, hugging them from behind.

“I don’t know. Something bright. Like you. Or Red.”

“Awwwww.”

“Shut up.”

Orange laughed. “Maybe a light orange. Almost yellow. But with a red base. We need to ask White, they studied color theory.”

Yellow nodded. They had the paint, in the ship. Yellow didn’t remember who had the idea of taking a few buckets of paint during their last stop on an Outpost, but turned out it was a smart decision.

“You can do a gradient” White told them during diner, after thinking about it for a few seconds. “It can look very pretty.”

“Mom flag” Pink whispered, and Green snickered.

* * *

A thunderstorm erupted during their 37th day in the Outpost.

They had been warned by Lime and Blue, who were trying to fix the Observatory’s roof. Huge dark clouds on the horizon. Thunder echoing in the distance, getting closer and closer. Lime and Blue had immediately given up on their reparations to run inside and warn everybody.

Windows were closed, doors were locked, and Yellow counted them three times to make sure nobody had been abandoned outside. Thankfully, they were all working in the Outpost this day, so it was fine. They were all safe.

They all stayed together, an unspoken agreement of “we need to stick together” in the air. White made tea for everyone. Green got their stereo from their room and put it in the living space to play some music. Purple, Orange and Blue started a game of cards.

When the rain started to drop, Cyan took refuge in White’s arms, and refused to move, forcing their parent to walk around with a kid hanging from their shoulders, face pressed against their chest. The sound of the rain was loud on the roof, and it was like standing under a particularly deafening shower. But without the water, because against all odds, the roof was waterproof.

Black was reading on their tablet when the first lighting strike illuminated the room. They all flinched, and Pink unconsciously got closer to Black, practically sitting on their lap.

The living space’s window didn’t have any shutters – it was made to last long – and outside, the storm raged on. Lime had their nose glued to the glass, watching everything with huge eyes. It was very impressive. The wind was howling, and it was dark, too dark to see anything, but Lime could make out the outlines of the trees moving furiously, as if they were trying to run away.

Black cooked them a nice meal for diner, and they played a board game late in the night. None of them wanted to go to bed, and Cyan fell asleep on Blue’s lap after the third game. The storm was not weakening, and every now and then, a strike of lighting followed by thunder made them flinch.

It was almost O2OO when finally, the storm turned into a drizzling rain and the thunder stopped. They went to bed, bidding each other goodnight softly so to not wake up Cyan, and Lime, who had also fallen asleep on the couch. Green had to carry them to their bedroom.

“I like storms” Black whispered in the dark, Pink’s head on their chest, the room barely illuminated by a small nightlight. Pink hummed, already half-asleep. “They make the earth smell nice.”

They yawned, and Pink smiled against their chest. “Yeah, they do.”

They fell asleep with the soft sound of the rain on the roof, a dull lullaby.

* * *

Pink started painting on the 42th days on the Outpost. At first, Pink had held out to basic drawings, some doodles of plants or objects, a few portraits of the crewmates, Black’s hands, when they were bored or on a break.

There was a very nice spot on the second floor, on the outside landing, a simple square of metal with a railing. It was like a patio, in some ways, and the crew sometimes sat here, with the beautiful landscape in front of them, mountain range and pines’ forest.

So one day, Pink went on the “patio” early in the morning without their tablet, just a few sheets of blank paper and a pencil. They sat down on the washed out bench, and looked at the rising sun for a long time before starting their drawing.

They had paint, somewhere in their room, a memory from their more artistic days, along with some fancy crayons their parents had given them during their departure party, a few years ago. A nice gift Pink was never able to use.

But for now, they were only using a crappy pencil. It wasn’t hard, Pink found out, to fall back into their old habits – sticking out their tongue, throwing quick glances around, bending their wrist to avoid smudging the ink, shadowing the lines to give more depth. The air smelled nice, crisp and clean, and the sun started warming up the little deck.

It was nice, Pink decided. Their drawing wasn’t that great, just a simple reproduction of the panorama, but the action itself emptied their head faster than trying the relaxation exercises Red had given them.

Black was good at that. Whenever they had a bad day, they would sat in a corner, take a big breath, eyes closed, and just… relax. Pink liked to watch during those moments. Maybe they could try to draw them.

The door creaked and Pink stopped drawing, head rising to see who was coming. It was Yellow, the sleeves of their suit tied around their waist, their arms bared and a strangely calm expression on their face.

“Breakfast is ready” they announced, but it wasn’t really an order to get up and go inside, more like an information. “What are you doing?”

Pink looked at the paper in their hand, then looked back at Yellow. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m planning a coup against you.”

Yellow smiled weirdly, as usual when they found something funny but didn’t want the other person to know. “Hilarious. Is my leadership that bad?”

Pink pretended to think for a moment, and Yellow sat down next to them, glancing at the drawing.

“Nah, it’s good. You are doing a great job” Pink decided, and they added a few lines to a pine tree before blowing on the paper to dry the ink faster.

Yellow looked up, squinting in the sun. They rarely looked that relaxed, always running around trying to fix everything as fast as possible, always trying to act tough and unbreakable.

“Thanks” they say, and it sounded sincere. “I didn’t know you could draw.” Pink glanced at them. “I mean, draw normally. Not the weird stuff you showed Blue last week.”

“Are you talking about the caricatures? Because Red thought they were great.” Pink said, stone-faced, but Yellow didn’t fell for that, and just rolled their eyes. “Yeah, I can draw _normally_. They let me take art classes when I was a kid. But you know, MIRA doesn’t really encourage artistic behavior.”

Yellow nodded. They pointed at the drawing. “I like it.”

It was probably the best compliment Pink was going to get from Yellow, and it felt nice.

“We can put it on the living space’s wall, if you want” Yellow proposed, and yeah, it felt very nice.

The drawing was put next to the communal board, and everyone liked it. A week later, Pink had added three drawings, one of them depicting Yellow reading with their feet propped up on Orange’s lap, Red drinking a cup of tea by the window, Cyan playing on the floor in front of them.

* * *

“How’s the green house?”

Black looked up. It was Blue, visibly a bit burned out by the sun, covered in sweat and dust, their suit dirty enough to be throw in the garbage. They were still working on the Observatory’s roof, and it was coming along very nicely.

Blue had showed Black the machine they were using to reconstruct the glass panel. You put the broken shards in one end, and it melted the stuff down so you could pour it on a mold and “tadaaa, you have a glass panel!”. It was impressive, but Black preferred to stay away from the machine. It was too hot for them.

Pink was still trying to fix the telescope, and it was giving them headache Black was more than happy to massage away.

“Doing great” Black said, and they rose up, dusting their knees. They had been taking care of the carrots all morning.

Blue looked around, and whistled. “You work fast. How many plantations do you have?”

Black counted rapidly. “Eleven. Working on the twelfth, the dill is giving me some troubles.”

Blue smiled, and patted a few leaves. “Nice. Listen, it’s almost White’s birthday, and I need your help.”

Oh. Black tilted their head, a sign they were listening very closely, and Blue got closer, their voice dropping in volume (for once).

“I already have a party planned, don’t worry. But I need to make them a nice diner. And you are the expert here.”

Indeed.

“What do you have in mind?” Black asked, quietly, and they rubbed their hands to get rid of the dirt stuck on their skin. “I found some spice in the pantry, and I was waiting for an occasion to use them. Do your species process meat? Because according to Purple there are a few animals around that are not venomous.”

“You are going to go _hunting_?” Blue looked absolutely amazed.

“I can fish too. It’s not that hard. You just have to be patient.”

“Yeah, not hard for you. I have the attention-span of a four years old, even Cyan is better than me at waiting” Blue laughed, like they always did when they were making fun of their own flaws. “To answer your question, yeah, we can process meat all right, but I’m not sure about fishes, you’ll have to ask Red or Orange for that.”

“We can roast the meat” Black was thinking out loud. “It can be nice, with the spices. I think I can build a barbecue with all the scraps we have…”

Blue looked confused. “What’s a barbecue?”

Black was even more confused. Shocked, almost. Every day, they were reminded of some cultural differences between their species. 

“It’s like. How do I explain this? You make a fire, and you put a rack above it, and you put your meat on the rack, and it roasts the meat very nicely.” They tried, with small hands gestures to show the process, and Blue, frowning, nodded.

“Okay, I see, you think it’ll be good?” Blue was practically bouncing on their feet, a big smile on their face, eyes tingling with excitement.

Black nodded. Blue hugged them very enthusiastically, and gave them a few additional information – the party was planned in ten days, and everyone was already warned, but it was a surprise so White didn’t know and Black was supposed to keep it a secret.

Blue left, dancing a little bit, as if they couldn’t control their enthusiasm, and Black was left alone in the Green House. They finished what they were doing before Blue interrupted them, and started working on the menu.

* * *

“Uuhh… getting eaten by an army of ants, or working for eternity in an Outpost’s sewer system with no filtering mask?”

“The ants.” Red said, no hesitation.

“You’re sure? The ants will eat you very slowly. And painfully” Orange pointed out.

They were lying in bed, a messy tangle of limbs and blanket, Red’s head pillowed by Orange’s chest. It was still early, barely past 1800, and it was their day off. They had been doing nothing all day, enjoying the respite and tranquility for once, and after watching a dumb movie with the crew, they had decided to take a nap.

Red joined Orange, despite the fact that they had their own bedroom right across the corridor. And after sleeping for two hours, they had started playing a dumb game, “would you rather”, exchanging questions and laughing at their answer.

“Yeah, but at least, I _will_ die. Working for eternity is awful” Red yawned, shifting a bit to put their arm around Orange’s stomach.

“True. Your turn.”

Red pondered for a bit, chewing absently at their lips. “Okay, would you rather never see the crew ever again, or have to eat moldy rations for the rest of your life.”

“That’s not hard, moldy rations.”

“Moldy rations with _worms_ in them” Red added, because they liked to make things difficult. Orange actually thought about it for a few seconds, and shook their head.

“Still the moldy rations.”

“Yeah, I would have said the same.”

They were interrupted by the door opening on Yellow, looking worse for wear and carrying a weird… thing, animal, creature in their arms. Red and Orange immediately straightened themselves.

“We have a new member” Yellow said, voice tired but not angry, just tired. “And I need one of you to check it for parasites, because I’m not letting a fleas-infested little monster roam in the Outpost.”

Orange rolled to the edge of the bed to get up. The animal was not very big, but its grayish fur was thick and tangled with sticks and leaves. Bright green eyes looked warily at Orange when they got closer, but it didn’t move, snuggled against Yellow’s chest.

“Purple said it’s a cat. _Felis silvestris silvestris._ But they don’t know why it let us pick it up, apparently cats are usually wild and wary of strangers.” Yellow was stroking the cat’s fur almost absently, and the animal made a strange purring sound.

“It must be very young” Red said, still lying down on the bed. “Where did you find it?”

“In the refinery. It was screaming very loudly. We searched for its family but I think they are gone.”

Orange tentatively reached for the small animal’s head, and when it didn’t result in any violent reaction, they scratched their chin, causing another purring sound.

“Let’s go to the Med Bay.” Orange decided, and to the Med Bay they went, the cat still in Yellow’s arms.

After a few scans and one careful physical examination, Orange was able to find out the cat was still a baby, “a kitten if you will”, barely one month old, and one of their hind leg was broken, hence why they weren’t able to follow their family.

“Its parent just… abandoned it?” Purple asked, scratching the cat’s head. Orange didn’t know why they were here, but well. The cat seemed to like Purple. Orange shrugged, not sure of anything, and asked them to hold the animal down so they could give it a shot.

“What’s that for?” Purple asked, stroking the cat and whispering sweet things into its ear to calm it down when Orange gently put the needle in its skin.

Orange put the needle down, took a look at their tablet. Yellow was sitting on the other bed, arms crossed, looking over the cat with a stern-but-fond expression.

“Basically everything. Rabies, chlamydia, herpes, calicivirus, typhus, leucosis…” Orange listed, and they looked one more time at the scan before slowly coaxing the cat into lying down on the bed, so they could take care of the broken leg.

Behind the Med Bay’s door, Green, Blue and Cyan were waiting, trying to come up with a good name for their new family member.

Yellow came out of the room at the exact moment Blue proposed “Chairman Miaow”. Yellow’s face was more disappointed than angry, but Blue still shut up very quickly.

“The cat is fine” Yellow revealed, and Cyan made a small sound of relief. Blue took them in their arms. “Can we go visit it?” Green asked, trying to take a peek into the Med Bay.

“Have you found a name yet?” Yellow inquired, not moving from their spot in front of the door. In the Med Bay, a strangled mew echoed, followed by Purple’s reassuring nonsense.

“I suggested Nobletoes but they don’t like it” Green mumbled.

“I like Pebbles” Cyan whispered, timid and unsure, nervously playing with Blue’s backpack strap.

“Pebbles it is” Yellow decided, because a stupid name was better when it was picked by a child, and not by two grown-up idiot.

And with that, Pebbles became a member of the crew. Its left hind leg stuck in a cast, the cat hobbled around the Outpost curiously, sniffing and mewing gently, and Cyan followed them everywhere at a safe distance, a biscuit in their hand.

When the kitten decided to climb into their lap to take a bite of the biscuit, Cyan looked so happy Yellow thought it was, after all, a good decision.

The only problem was when Black decided to show up, looking a bit _ruffled_ , and Yellow really wasn’t ready to think about what they were doing upstairs with Pink, and Pebbles, who was just chilling on the couch with Cyan and Purple scratching their ears and chin, jumped so high in the air Yellow wondered for a second if cats were able to fly.

Pebbles fell back into the couch, and Purple howled when its claws pierced their suit. The cat started hissing, looking at Black, its back rounded and its eyes wild.

“Oh oh” Orange whispered, not very alarmed but still on the lookout.

Black looked at the cat with an unreadable expression on their face. Yellow noted their position – legs slightly parted, better weight distribution in case they needed to run, arms bended, fists closed, teeth bared like a fucking predator – and they winced.

“Black, please don’t eat the cat” Yellow intoned, slowly, and with that, Black snapped out of it, straightening themselves and looking at Yellow with surprise in their eyes.

“I’m not… going to do that.” Black was still wary, but maybe it had to do with the hissing little parasite that was maiming Purple’s tights with its claws. Maybe.

Cyan had retreated to the end of the couch, and Blue helped Purple with Pebbles, trying to coax it into calming down.

“What’s _this_?” Black asked, pointing at the cat, and Orange chuckled discreetly, tried to pass it off as a cough.

“Apparently, your natural enemy” Orange responded before Yellow could say “it’s just a fucking cat”.

It took them half an hour to convince Pebbles to stop hissing in Black’s direction, and even longer to make the two of them get close enough so the cat could sniff its nemesis and make sure everything was alright.

“Why did you bring it here?” Black asked, and even if their voice was even, Yellow couldn’t help but imagine the impostor was _jealous_.

“Because we love murderous adorable weird creatures around here” Blue shouted from the kitchen. Yellow sighted. “Did you get it? I mean, Black is basically a cat, but with the ability to talk, you know…”

Blue’s offensive rambling was cut short by Yellow hurling a book at their face to shut them up.

* * *

“I want a divorce, and I’m taking Cyan with me” White said, very calmly. Blue gritted their teeth, shook their head, banging on the table with their hand.

“You cheating liar, I can see right through your lies, don’t think I won’t remember it!” They shot back.

Lime winced, and glanced at Pink, who looked at the two bickering adults with an eerie detached expression. Beside them, Black was obviously uncomfortable, fiddling with their card nervously.

“Okay, calm down, let’s go back to the beginning” Yellow said, stopping Blue’s onslaught of recriminations. White sighed, crossing their arms on their chest, and looked pointedly at Orange.

“All I’m saying is, I heard White move during the Devil’s turn” Orange explained with a shrug.

“I voted for Purple to protect you, White!” Blue complained, very dramatically, and Yellow discreetly rolled their eyes.

They were playing “Devils in the Valley”, the game Black had invented months ago, during their first time on the ship together. It was a fun game, but after a few drinks, people were starting to get _very_ passionate about the whole thing.

“And you would rather believe _Orange_ , who you didn’t even know before all of this, than me, your long-life partner?” White prompted, calm as ever, one brow raised in disbelief.

“Hey, are you accusing Orange of lying?” Red asked, faking outrage very badly, because they were not a great actor.

Purple, who was killed during the last vote, only sighed. The Civilians were supposed to find who had killed Green during the first night, but so far, they had only managed to kill an innocent (Purple). Nobody knew who the Devils were, and everyone was acting like they were not guilty.

Yellow, the Captain of this round, cleared their throat.

“If you can’t pick one player to kill, we have to move on.” They warned.

Pink rubbed their chin.

“As the Leader, I can pick someone and it counts double, right?” they asked, just to be sure, and Yellow nodded. “Okay, I pick Black.”

Black spluttered, turning their head to look at Pink with betrayal in their eyes.

“What did I do?”

“Nothing, and that’s the problem, love. You’ve been awfully quiet during this round” Pink smiled sweetly. Black put a hand on their chest, and Lime wondered if Pink was right, or if they were just playing some kind of mind game. Maybe Pink was a Devil…

“Someone’s sleeping on the couch tonight” Green whispered, refilling their glass.

“Okay, two votes for Black” Yellow counted, turning toward the rest of the crew. “Who votes for Black?”

White raised their hand. After some thinking, Red raised their hand too. Black threw them an angry look, but didn’t even try to defend themselves. If the Leader voted for you, you were as good as dead.

“Lime, who do you vote for?” Yellow asked, and Lime fidgeted in their seat, looking around the table, trying to find evidences of guilt in their crewmates’ faces.

“I vote for Pink” they decided, and when their friend looked at them, surprised, they winced. “I’m sorry, but you don’t have any evidence to accuse Black, and it’s weird.”

Pink was apparently too taken aback to form words, and Orange, who was having a great time, piped up cheerfully.

“I agree. I vote for Pink too.”

“Hey!”

“Okay, Pink” Blue decided, and Yellow sighted. Black raised their hand very angrily, looking at Pink with an air of defiance. Yellow counted the votes rapidly. 

“It’s a draw, team. What do you want to do? Continue the debate, or go to sleep?”

They all glanced at each other suspiciously. If they kept fighting over who they wanted to vote for, they could spend _hours_ like this and not make any progress. But if they went to sleep… the Devils could kill another Civilian. And nobody wanted that, especially the Civilians.

They argued for five minutes over it, and finally decided to go to sleep.

“The valley falls asleep” Yellow intoned, and everybody closed their eyes. “The Devils wake up.”

The Devils woke up, decided who to kill without even having to argue, and went back to sleep.

“The Warrior wakes up” Yellow, and the Warrior woke up. “This person was killed during the night” Yellow pointed at the victim. “Do you want to save them, kill someone else, or do nothing.”

The Warrior made their choice, and went back to sleep.

“The valley wakes up” Yellow announced, and everybody opened their eyes, some faking yawning, others stretching. “Two persons died during the night.”

Everybody gasped. Yellow pointed at White, who just sighed, and Blue, who took an outraged expression right away.

“I died? Why? I did nothing wrong!” they protested, before turning to their partner, who looked at them innocently. “Okay babe, show us your card.”

White complied, rising their card high in the air so everyone could see they were, in fact, a Devil. Blue screeched.

“You played me like a fiddle!!”

“Please, darling. Fiddles are actually quite hard to play. I played you like the cheap kazoo you are.”

Yellow tried, in vain, not to show their amusement as Blue launched into a dramatic monologue about having their trust betrayed. Lime eyes suspiciously Pink, who was way too chill.

“Hey Blue, show us your card” Orange asked, and nobody was surprised to see the Civilian card in Blue’s hand.

“Okay, vote time” Yellow decided, and Blue grumbled and climbed into White’s lap, muttering about “ _being fucking dead for nothing_ ”.

“Well, since Lime backstabbed me during the last round, I vote for them” Pink said, almost immediately, knowing their vote counted double.

“That’s not fair, you don’t have any evidence! That’s authoritarianism!” Lime protested, because in case of troubles, always use the big words.

“I agree with Lime, Pink is sus” Black added.

Pink looked at them respectively, shaking their head.

“You are making a big mistake, I’m not a Devil” they said. Yellow pointed at Red and Orange, who were watching the exchange in silence. Green passed a snack to Blue, who looked very disappointed in having being killed during the second round.

“I think Pink is sus, but Lime was very quick to accuse them” Red said, slowly, very serious, as if the game was a matter of life and death.

“True” Orange mused, rubbing their chin and squinting at Lime, who opened their mouth but didn’t know what to say.

They debated for a few minutes, trying to break each other, and Yellow only interrupted them once or twice, so people stayed civil and didn’t start hurling insults at each other.

Red and Orange finally decided to vote for Pink, and Pink protested very loudly, before revealing they were, in fact, one of the two remaining Devils. “I knew it!” Lime exuded, pumping a fist in the air. “But it means the last Devil voted for one of their own…”

The remaining played threw suspicious glances at each other.

* * *

Black was not jealous. Black was an impostor, a dangerous species that could devour their opponent in a few seconds, a species that had been the thorn in MIRA’s foot for _decades_ , someone who feared very little and was probably at the top of the food chain on most planets.

So Black was not jealous.

But they were angry. Because they had to share _their_ territory with another predator.

Admittedly, said predator was no bigger than a pillow and only had little claws and little teeth to defend themselves, and was more interested in getting their belly scratched, sleeping in the sun, and playing with whatever Purple threw in front of them, but still. A Predator.

And Black, despite all of the progress they had made, was not comfortable with sharing their hard-earned space with what could only be described as a parasite. Munching off their reserves, taking all the hugs for itself, and hissing whenever Black came too close to it.

So Black avoided the little monster as much as they could, and was relieved to see Pink not showing much interested in the new member of the crew.

“Yeah, it’s cute, but it’s not very smart. I saw it eat a spider and then puke.” Pink was amused, but fortunately, they would rather spend time with Black (who was _not_ purring, thank you very much, just happy to be cuddled) than with “Pebbles”.

It was not the case for the rest of the crew. Yellow, of course, showed a fond but detached interest toward the little demon, and Red was just happy to have an animal that could potentially chase the rebellious mice that lived in the basement. Orange thought Pebbles was cute, and White liked it because it made a great game companion for Cyan.

But Purple, Lime, Blue and Green were completely smitten. It was a bit scary, Black found, to see them spend _hours_ rubbing the cat up and down and saying dumb things like “ _oooh you’re so pretty_ ”.

Whenever Black and Pebbles crossed paths, they would look at each other with the same expression – you are on my territory, and I’m not giving up any time soon. But they didn’t fight. First, Black would have felt bad for pouncing on such a small thing, and second, they both knew fighting was frowned upon in the Outpost.

It was a truce. A mutual understanding of what they needed to do to stay with the crew. When Black told Pink about that, they laughed, kissed their cheek and said “that’s stupid but okay, I love you.”

When White’s birthday party rolled around, Green chased the cat trying to put a small birthday hat on its head, and failed. Black grilled some fishes and meats, and everyone liked it, which was a relief, and Red said the smoke couldn’t be good for them, but hey, it was a party, and they asked for a second helping.

They were on the patio, with small paper lanterns with candles in them, soft light illuminating the crew and the food, the faint cricking of grasshoppers and Green’s music, Blue telling a story about how they tried to seduce White (Black was amazed it worked).

Cyan was giving everyone candies and little cut-out of hearts colored in their respective color, and Blue offered a very soft-looking blanket to their partner, “I knitted it myself” they said proudly, and White kissed them very sweetly with the same smile as ever on their face.

When they went to bed that night, Pebbles was sleeping on Pink and Black’s shared bed, and only opened an eye to watch them warily before slowly moving toward the end of the bed so they could lie down.

“See? It likes you. You are like, its reluctant protector” Pink whispered, wiggling to put their cold feet against Black’s tights.

“Hum. Maybe it’s planning to gouge my eyes out during the night” Black said, but they weren’t serious, and Pink knew it.

When Black woke up the next morning, Pebbles was sleeping right next to their head, fluffy tail grazing their ear.

“You are a weird one” Black whispered, and Pebbles opened its green eyes and yawned with a defiant look on their weird triangular face. “You are lucky you are cute, I could have eaten you when nobody was watching.”

“Are you talking to Pebbles?” Pink asked groggily, and Black froze, their hand one centimeter away from Pebble’s head.

“Just letting the cat knows who’s in charge between the two of us” Black mumbled, and Pebbles meowed, and stretched its neck to rub its nose against Black’s hand.

Okay, maybe Purple was right to call it cute.

* * *

“Hey nerd” Green said in greeting, entering with the Observatory with two cans of soda in their hands.

Purple, who was busy jotting down some notes, on eye glued to the telescope, barely moved, vaguely waving a hand in their direction.

“You know it’s almost O3OO?” Green wondered, looking around the Observatory. It was a nice room, once the roof was officially finished, and the broken branches and other trash have been taken out. The sky was pitch black, but even throughout the glass, Green could see the stars.

Purple finally separated themselves from the scope, and yawned. Green plopped down next to them, and handed them the soda can.

“What secrets did the stars told you this time?” Green asked as Purple took a sip of their drink, bloodshot eyes blinking wearily.

“Not a lot, I’m afraid. But we should have a nice weather next week.”

Green nodded, glancing at Purple’s notes and feeling a bit relieved they weren’t the designated weather man of the crew. Science has never been their strongest suit.

Purple scribbled down something. Green started humming some old song, looking up at the stars through the glass roof. The crew had really done a great job in fixing it.

“Do you know when Black’s birthday is?” Green asked, a few minutes of comfortable silence later. Purple shook their head without looking up. “Do impostors even celebrate birthday? Do they know the concept of birthday?”

Purple seemed to think about it, frowning, idly taping their pencil against the paper.

“Maybe? I don’t know. We have a lot of cultural concepts in common, you know, they are just called differently… We should just ask them.”

Green nodded.

“You want to throw them a party?” Purple asked, something close to excitement in their voice, because they were not cool enough to sound detached from their emotions like Green was.

“Yep. Could be nice, even if none of us know how to cook.”

Purple laughed a little bit, and closed their notebook. It was time to go to bed, and Green helped them shut off the telescope and clean up the space before they left the Observatory.

“You should ask Pink about it, if anyone knows Black’s birthday, it’s probably them” Purple said once they had reached the second floor. Everything was dark and quiet, the crew already asleep in their respective room.

“Good idea. Goodnight nerd” Green waved, and opened the door to their bedroom.

“Goodnight, dumbass.”

And with that, they went to bed.

* * *

It had already been three months of their life on the Outpost, and Yellow couldn’t believe how _nice_ things were.

They woke up every morning tangled in bed with Orange, and sometimes Red, when they were too lazy to go back to their own room and ended falling asleep with them. They ate breakfast without any life-threatening problem hanging over their head, and Pebbles the cat sometimes sat on their lap and purred very loudly, asking for scratches.

They fixed some stuff, checked on the fuel’s process in the refinery, helped some crewmates with their tasks, kissed Red in the Med Bay or Orange in the pantry, learned how to cook with Black, read a book White recommended them. It was nice.

Easy. Like some stuff straight up taken from a cheesy romance novel where the protagonists get to live happily ever after.

Of course, there were some issues that needed to be fixed – the rations problem, the lack of supplies, what do to in case MIRA decided to check on their abandoned Outpost out of the blue – but Yellow was _made_ to find solutions.

It was their biggest quality, after all, the one thing that made MIRA take a closer look at this angry little crewmate that always spoke their mind and never gave up on anything, and threw them in the shittiest ship they could find to get rid of them, probably hoping an impostor would eat their head.

No such luck, the only impostor Yellow had met was the sweetest person they had ever seen. Black talked to Pebbles like the animal understood them, and they held hands with Pink any chances they got.

“It’s almost the end of the warm season” Purple warned Yellow one morning.

“Should be okay, we have enough fuel to heat up the building, and the rations machine works fine” Yellow said, munching on their cereals. Next to them, White was drinking tea and trying to get Cyan to eat some strange fruit, round and green and a bit sour.

“Maybe we should plan a trip to another Outpost, just to be sure” Yellow added, always cautious. “How cold is it going to get?”

Purple made a face, looking at their notes.

“It can drop below zero, and it’s probably going to snow a lot” Purple said, and Cyan perked up at the mention of snow.

Yellow sighed, because they didn’t like the snow, and Blue would have probably called them a killjoy, but still, snow was annoying and wet and cold, and dangerous.

Yellow still remembered that year where they worked on an Outpost located on a frozen planet, and MIRA had sent a team of researchers without making sure there wasn’t any blizzard coming up, and the whole team had died. Gruesome times.

“Okay, we are definitively going to an Outpost to steal some supplies and additional blankets” Yellow decided, still remembering the official report that had mentioned “ _frozen toes falling out of the corpses_ ”.

White smiled.

“Who do you plan on bringing along?” they asked, very nicely, almost conversational, but Yellow was good at reading people, and White probably had an ulterior motive.

“Purple, Red, maybe Orange, but we probably won’t need two doctors. Pink, in case the ship give us some issues. Lime look sweet enough to deter any suspicions but I’m not sure yet. Not Black, they don’t need that kind of stress. Do you want to come?” Yellow asked bluntly, because they didn’t like beating around the bush.

White smiled, patted Cyan on the hand and nodded when the kid asked if they could go play. Once Cyan had disappeared in the corridor, White turned toward Yellow, face serious.

“I have an idea for Blue’s birthday gift, but I need some specific materials” they explained, and Yellow felt weirdly relieved. For one second or two, they had thought it was actually for a bad reason.

“No problem. You can give us a list, or come with us. We just need to be not suspicious.”

It wasn’t going to be hard, if they left the problematic elements (Black and Blue) behind.

* * *

“What are you doing?”

Startled, Lime fumbled with their notebook to close it. Blue was leaning against the doorway, some weird-looking sandwich in their hands.

“Nothing” Lime said, lamely. “Just… stuffs. Things. You know?”

Blue took a bit of their sandwich and a step into the room Lime shared with Purple. On one side, shelves with Purple’s impressive collection of space rocks and Lime’s less impressive collection of bottle caps. Two beds, separated by a nightstand (that once was a ration’s crate). A small desk, where Lime was currently sitting, with a bunch of books, tools and papers that none of them wanted to clean up.

“Well, I don’t really know, that’s why I’m asking” Blue noted, waving their sandwich around in Lime’s general direction. “What are you writing, a diary? Like Black and Yellow? I tried to read Yellow’s but they smacked me. Rude. And I really don’t want to read Black’s, they probably talk about Pink or whatever and I bet it’s very cringy.”

Lime didn’t tell Blue how _cringy_ they were whenever White was around, because Lime was a nice kid and they liked Blue.

“So, is it a diary?” Blue asked, again, not giving up, and Lime shook their head, ashamed for an unknown reason. They all had taken up weird hobbies to fill up their day off or the slow evenings – Pink and White were drawing and painting, Green was making music, Purple was making an herbarium, Yellow was reading all the books they never had the opportunity to read, etc. – but Lime was feeling way too self conscious to say it out loud.

Blue was rambling about their knitting project – a sweater for the winter they planned on giving to Red, to thanks them for the amount of time they had taken care of Blue’s dumb injuries (like that time they tried to help Black cook and ended up burning their hand very badly).

“I wanted to use red’s wool at first but then I started thinking _hey what if it was a mix of yellow and red and orange_ and then…”

“I’m writing poetry” Lime blurted out, cheeks hot for some reason.

Blue shut their mouth and looked at them very strangely. Oh, Lime realized, they were _serious_. It never happened, Blue was never serious. But right now, they looked weirdly… mature. Which was a bit terrifying, if Lime was honest with themselves.

“Poetry” Blue mused, and they finished their sandwich in one large bite and shuffled closer to the desk, peering above Lime’s shoulder. “That’s nice. What kind of poetry?”

Lime fiddled nervously with their pencil.

“I don’t… really know. Just words, you know?” and Blue nodded, gravely, and Lime started to wonder what was happening, why Blue was being so serious. They should already have cracked a joke or two at this point, maybe made fun of Lime’s dumb hobby.

“That’s nice” Blue said, and patted Lime’s shoulder. “Can I read it? You can say no. I won’t take it personally, but I like poetry, can you believe it?”

Ohhhh, Lime realized. Blue was acting the “nice, older sibling” part. Okay. It was nice. Lime opened their notebook, flipped a few pages to find a poem they were actually proud of.

“It’s not very good” they warned, and Blue rolled their eyes, sat down on the desk, disturbing a few sheets of paper.

“Nonsense. Everything you create is good in its own way. Do you think the first scarf I knitted was _pretty_? No, it was so fucking ugly I cried when I looked at it. But it was _mine_ , and I was so proud of myself I immediately started another scarf, and this one was still ugly, but a little better you see?”

Lime was a bit confused – where did Blue wanted to go with their scarf’s expose? – but they wordlessly handed their notebook opened to page 16. The poem was called “The Youngest”, and Lime thought it was their best.

Blue accepted the notebook with a flourish, and started reading. Lime watched them, anxious, trying not to look too eager, watching for signs of disappointment or mockery on Blue’s focused face.

“I like it” Blue declared after a few minutes of silent reading, and they sounded sincere, so Lime exhaled discreetly, relieved. “It’s quite surrealist, and I think I’m too dumb to understand all of the metaphors, but I like the… emotions it exudes.”

Lime wanted to tell Blue they weren’t dumb, and someone who used the word “exude” was probably smart enough to understand metaphors, but they didn’t, because Blue complimented their writing and it was probably one of the best days of their life.

“What do you mean by _ceiling of the dragonfly_?” Blue asked, showing the verse with their finger. “It’s a very nice image, by the way.”

“Repository pasting. The strangeness is produced by the inconsistency of the associated signified” Lime said, knowing it was probably too abstract for a good explanation. “I mean, that’s how surrealist poetry works, you kind of glue words that don’t make sense together to conjure up some image, and your brain does the rest. The ceiling of the dragonfly is a reference to the tree branch the kid is hanging from.”

“Wait, the kid _hanged themselves_?” Blue said, shocked, and they frenetically reread the poem.

“No! They are just playing, you know!”

Blue laughed, nodded, visibly reassured.

“Okay, I was scared for a second, kid. Thought I had to warn Red you were having suicidal thoughts.”

Lime grinned, and Blue handed them the notebook.

“It’s good. You are doing great, and I think you’re talented” Blue said, unconditionally supportive.

“Thanks” Lime whispered, feeling oddly proud and emotional, and they looked down at their notebook, in fear of Blue seeing the tears that threatened to spill behind their eyes. 

“But on a less serious note, do you want to prank Yellow with me?” Blue asked, familiar shit-eating grin back on their face, eyes tingling with badly concealed glee. “I want to put toothpaste into their favorite snacks, but I need someone to keep watch in case someone comes into the kitchen.”

Lime put their notebook in the top drawer of the desk and got up from their chair.

“Count me in.”

Blue smiled brightly and hopped down the desk, vibrating with excitement.

* * *

“We will be back in eight days, maybe ten” Yellow was saying, looking over the crew with a serious expression, their tablet in hands, backpack ready. Beside them, Orange was checking their first aid kit one last time.

Pink and Black were hugging like it was their last goodbye. White was giving their final recommendations to Cyan and Blue (“eat your vegetables, don’t stay up too late, wear a scarf when it’s cold outside, don’t go outside alone”) and nobody knew which one was intended for the child and which one was intended for the adult.

Purple was giving Pebbles some last scratches, shushing their heartbreaking meowing with “I will be back soon don’t worry baby”.

Yellow, Orange, Pink, Green, White and Purple were leaving. One last trip to another Outpost before the cold season arrived, to fill up on food, warm clothes, blankets, and petroleum (just in case).

When they finally left, it was already past 0900 and Yellow was starting to grow impatient, repeating they had a schedule to follow and Orange was humming soothingly next to them. Red kissed them both roughly, probably trying not to make a scene, and they looked a bit sad. In a rare show of consideration, Blue put their arm around their shoulder and squeezed a bit.

“It’s gonna be fine” they tried, and Red nodded, jaw squared like they were trying not to cry.

Black was not any better, hunched over and looking at the ship with the face of someone who just realized they were going to sleep alone for at least a week. The engine roared, and Lime waved in the air, imitated by Cyan.

They watched the ship disappear in the atmosphere in silence.

“Well, look on the bright side, we can finally eat snacks on the couch without Yellow yelling at us” Blue said, vaguely trying to sound cheery but failing.

Red sniffled, rubbed one eye.

“I have something in my eye” they grumbled when Black handed them a tissue. “I’m not crying because _both_ of my partners are gone.”

“For a week” Lime noted, sounding a bit… perplexed. They thought Yellow was the dramatic one in their trouple. Red left the landing platform muttering about “kids not knowing a thing about love”. Blue patted sympathetically Lime’s shoulder. Cyan was collecting pretty leaves on the platform, not very moved by the scene.

“Don’t take it personally” they advised, before turning to Black, who was still looking up, watching the empty sky with something akin to despair. “Hey, Eurydice, what are you doing? Pink is going to come back, don’t worry!”

Black looked down, and they looked so sad even Blue sighed.

“I’m worried” Black whispered, and Blue clapped their back, pushing them toward the stairs with one hand, the other grabbing Cyan.

“I know. I’m worried too, but Pink is a very competent person and they are with Yellow. And Yellow is probably MIRA’s worst nightmare personified. So, everything’s going to be fine.”

Lime followed them, glancing at the sky. It was a cloudy day, and the wind was cold. Saddened at the prospect of dealing with bad weather for at least five other months, Lime quickly took refuge inside. Pebbles was sleeping on the couch, and Red had locked themselves in the Med Bay, probably to hide their tears.

“Okay, tea for everyone” Blue said, rubbing their hands together, and Black took a sit at the table, head bowed. Lime sat down next to them, nudged them with their elbow, smiled when they looked up.

“You can text Pink if you miss them” they said, and Black nodded, hand unconsciously reaching for their tablet. “Not now! They just left!”

Black slowly let go of their tablet. Blue arrived with three cups of tea balanced in their hands, looking pretty happy for someone who had just watched their partner leave the planet for a week. Cyan had grabbed their pencils, and was drawing something very ugly on a sheet of paper.

“That’s very pretty, sweetie” Blue cooed, handing them their tea and patting their kid’s head. “Great artist, like White.”

Black took a sip of their drink, and Lime imitated them, even if they didn’t really like tea.

“What did you call me earlier?” Black suddenly asked, looking at Blue intensely, like they did sometimes.

Blue sat down next to their kid, and grinned.

“Eurydice. It’s from a very, very old myth.”

Lime straightened immediately at the prospect of hearing a story, and Black wordlessly encouraged Blue to explain.

“It goes like this. A poet named Orpheus was madly in love in a nymph. The day of their marriage, the nymph got killed by a snake, and went to the underworld. The poet followed their love, and persuaded the ruler of the underworld to let them go, in exchange of a song. The only rule was: the poet couldn’t turn around during the whole trip back to the surface.”

Lime didn’t really know what a nymph was, and Black had no idea what Blue meant by “underworld”, but none of them dared to interrupt the story. Cyan, having already heard the story a hundred times, started a new drawing.

“But during the walk, Orpheus started having doubts. It was dark around them, and they couldn’t hear Eurydice’s footsteps behind them. When they arrived in front of the entrance, they turned around, breaking the rule. They saw Eurydice looking at them, vanishing into the darkness and they cried. Orpheus was left alone, mourning their lost love.”

Lime was horrified. Black was crying. Impostors apparently had a soft spot for tragic love stories.

“It’s so sad” Lime whispered, and Blue shrugged.

“Yeah, but you know, turning around was actually the proof of Orpheus’s love for Eurydice. The nymph was smiling as they disappeared, because they knew they had been loved.”

A silence fell on the table. Cyan finished their drawing, and showed it to Blue, who congratulated them.

“Hey, Blue, quick question” Lime started, thoughtfully. “Where did you learn this story?”

Blue smiled, brightly, and maybe a bit smug.

“Oh, I followed some literature classes in the Academy.”

Lime looked at them, puzzled, because that was the last thing they would have imagined Blue studying in their youth. But well. It takes all sorts to make a world.

“What’s the underworld?” Black asked, and Red came out of the Med Bay, eyes a bit red and swollen, as Blue had launched themselves into a great lecture about ancient mythology.

* * *

Black waited six hours before sending a text to Pink.

In their opinion, they had been more than patient. Sitting on their bed, Pebbles sleeping right next to them, one paw on their tight, Black took their tablet, pondered for a bit, and wrote a quick text that they hoped wasn’t too clingy.

“ _Hey, I hope everything is fine in the ship. The Outpost feels empty without you, I miss you already. Red cried after you all left. Blue told us a very sad story. But everything is okay. Take care, love you_.”

Satisfied, they sent the message and collapsed on the bed, disturbing Pebbles’ sleep. The cat rumbled, got up to start kneading the mattress.

“I miss Pink” Black said out loud, and the cat lied down on their shoulder with a yawn, and started purring when Black scratched its chin. “I hope they won’t run into any troubles. I trust Yellow, they are a great leader, but still.”

Pebbles nibbled at their hand, licked one or two fingers, and closed its eyes. Black looked at the cat with a strange pain in their chest. They were sad, they realized, and it was ridiculous. Pink was not gone forever. Just a week, and then they would be back.

Black sighed, feeling dumb, and petted Pebbles for a few minutes, trying to think of activities that would occupy them for the week. The Green House was fine, they only had to water a few plantations and check the soils. Soon, the cabbages and the pumpkins would be ready for harvest.

Somebody knocked on the door, and Black raised their head without moving the rest of their body.

“Hey, Eurydice, everything’s okay? Are you masturbating or crying? One is worst that the other, and it’s not the one involving your hand!”

That was Blue, of course. Black groaned, hiding their face in Pebbles’ fur. The door opened, and Blue looked at the scene with their hands on their hips, frowning like a disappointed parent.

“Okay, why are you moping?” Blue asked, stepping into the room and closing the door behind them. The bed dipped when they sat down, and Pebble meowed. “Hey, it’s not that bad, it’s just a week. Maybe a bit more.”

Black didn’t move, barely acknowledging Blue’s presence. Blue sighed, and patted the closest things they could reach – Black’s right calf.

“Hey, do you want to know why I’m not moping like you, or Red?” Blue asked, in an uncharacteristic soft voice. Black turned their head, just a bit, so they could look at them.

“When I fell in love with White I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We were both working on different ships, all the time, and MIRA seemed determined to put us as far away from each other as they could. Rough start for a relationship, eh?”

Black nodded, face still half-pressed against Pebbles’ fur.

“But we were determined to make it work. We spend months away from each other, sending texts and calling whenever we could. Long-distance relationships are tough, especially when you are a dumbass like me.”

“You’re not a dumbass” Black mumbled, and Blue patted their calf again, smiling.

“Yeah, jury’s still out for that out.”

Pebbles, apparently having enough of Black’s moping, got up and crossed the bed to get some scratches from Blue.

“So we were like that for three years, catching glimpses of each other when we were staying on the same Outpost, trying to make it work. Did you know you have to submit an official _relationship_ _request_ to MIRA if you want to settle down with someone? That’s bullshit and we knew it, but it was the only way to stop spending so much time apart from each other. So we submitted our request and waited.”

Blue lied down on the bed, Pebbles snuggled against their chest.

“MIRA refused our request. Multiple times. They said we weren’t _compatible_. That I was too immature, and White was too smart to be stuck with an idiot like me.”

Oh, that was sad. Black stayed still for a second or two, then decided it was time to comfort Blue, so they awkwardly patted their shoulder. Blue smiled, because they knew Black was not great at showing their affection. 

“So we said fuck it, and got together illegally. I bribed a few Administrations peoples to get an assignment on the Outpost where White was stationed, and we managed to stay together for a few months and it was great. Best time of my life so far, you know. And then Cyan happened. And we had to bribe even more people to avoid attracting MIRA’s attention. T’was not fun.”

Another awkward pat. Pebbles was snoring.

“But hey, I didn’t come here to talk about that. I actually wanted to show you how I survived all these months without White” Blue said, crawling on the bed to sit against the headboard. “You’ll see, it’s great.”

They took their tablet, searched for something for a few seconds, and Black imitated them, sitting against the headboard to peer at the tablet.

“I made myself a sad times playlist! It’s called _Tearful Matters_ ” and with that, Blue hit the _play_ button. Soft, melancholic notes started playing, followed by a high voice that sounded like someone who just hit their toe against the coffee table. “You listen to that, you have a good cry, and bam, you’re good to go!”

Black listened closely to the song, and soon enough, their eyes started filling up with tears.

“Oh” they said, and Blue handed them a box of tissues with a sympathetic smile.

Then Blue started singing with the chorus – “WAKE ME UUUUP INSIIIIIIDE” – and they were a terrible singer so Black started laughing-crying and they were already feeling better.

“ _Hi love. Everything’s going great up here, don’t worry. Yellow and Green are already fighting, and I don’t even remember why. We should reach the outpost in tomorrow, if Purple didn’t mess up their calculations. I think White misses Blue already, it’s cute. How is Lime doing? And don’t worry, I miss you too. Can’t wait to come back. Don’t forget to feed Pebbles! Love you._ ”

* * *

They came back eleven days later.

Blue tackled White to the ground as soon as they stepped out of the ship, and kissed them like someone who has been deprived of air for too long. Yellow passed the couple, rolling their eyes, and when they spotted Red, they sprinted in their directions like the big hypocrite they were, Orange hot in their heels, and the three of them hugged and kissed and asked a plethora of questions that went unanswered.

Black simply put their hands on Pink’s cheeks, and kissed them very softly, because they didn’t like public displays of affection that much, and Pink knew it. Green wolf-whistled and actually waited patiently beside Blue and White’s big pile of limbs to get a hug from their clown friend.

Purple hugged everyone, very emotional, repeating they had missed them so much, and ran inside to check on Pebbles. Pink hugged Lime, lifting them off the floor for good measure, and laughed a bit when the kid told them Black had been mopping for a week.

“So, how did it go?” Red asked, once they were all sitting in the living space, nursing cups of tea or coffee and eating snacks. Yellow, who had their head of their lap and Orange’s whole body lying on them, only hummed, vaguely positive.

“It went great” Purple said, because their leader had apparently decided to give up their role for the rest of the day. “I don’t think we raised any suspicions. But after all, I stayed on the ship for the whole time.”

“Yeah, you don’t know how to lie, it was the best option” Green revealed from their spot on the floor, where they were playing with Pebbles and a fake mouse made of rubber bands and wool.

Lime was helping Black baking, and they had flour all over their hands and faces. Pink was sitting on the counter eating dried fruits, swinging their legs and talking about the Outpost, “dampest piece of land I’ve ever seen”. White was looking at Cyan’s drawings, congratulating them, and Blue was looking at their family with a fond expression.

It was nice. Domestic, even. It was cold outside, but the room was warm with laughter and central heating, the smell of Black’s baked goods and hot coffee floating in the air, some nice soft music playing in the background. Disgustingly sweet, Yellow thought.

“We actually had to steal the identity of death crewmates” Pink said, frowning, appalled. “It was very weird. I kind of feel bad, they are dead and we are using them.”

Yellow rumbled from their position on the couch, not moving a finger, and Orange snuggled their face against their shoulder with a deep sight.

“It’s not that bad. I’m sure they would have been happy to help us go under MIRA’s radar” Green responded, getting up and dusting their knees. “After all, most of them died because of MIRA’s absolute disregard for our lives.”

A general hum of agreement echoed, and Pink shrugged, not very convinced, but also not willing to ruin the mood.

Black and Lime’s cookies were delicious, chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside, and Blue made disgustingly sexual noises when they took their first bite.

“We still need to unload the ship” Yellow said, having moved from the couch to the window, looking at the sun disappearing behind the tree line and the mountains.

Red hummed and Orange yawned.

“We can do it tomorrow. We still have time” Pink said, and they took the last cookie while nobody was looking.

* * *

Green and Yellow making cleats to go outside when the snow arrived, because when Blue went outside in the morning, they slipped on a patch of ice and almost broke their neck.

Their fist snowball fight, won by team A (like adults) by 11 to 7, and Lime protesting for two hours that it wasn’t fair because their legs were shorter than Red’s and Orange’s, and Yellow said being short had never stopped them from being a general nuisance, so it wasn’t a good point.

Red, Orange and Yellow having “date nights” in the Observatory, to get away from their unruly kids for just one evening, drinking wine and looking at the sky and trying out all the terrible pick-up lines they never had the chance to use in their youth.

Black and Pink having yet another disastrous sex adventure in the showers, and Black spraining their wrist and having to only use their right hand for a week, leading to the discovery that “impostors are in fact very clumsy when they don’t use their dominant hand”.

White giving Blue their birthday’s present in the quietness of their bedroom, late in the night, after the party, and Blue crying when they opened the memory diary White has made, with all the pictures and quotes and jokes and pranks they had made and lived and invented throughout the years.

Pebbles sleeping in the worst places possible – next to the furnace, on Purple’s keyboard, right in front of the oven, right on top of the clean laundry, and nobody having the heart to shoo the small beast away.

Lime finishing their first poetry notebook, and reading a few new poems to Blue over a cup of tea, hiding in the utility room because they were too shy to read them in front of the others, and Blue listening with a serious expression and eyes full of pride and fondness.

Black falling asleep in the Green House, among their beloved plantations, and Orange finding them and taking a few pictures before covering them with a blanket, just in case.

Cyan reading their first book without any help, in front of the whole crew, and everyone cheering and clapping at the end, making the kid blushes and smile happily.

Black’s birthday – they didn’t really know when exactly they were born, so when Green had asked, they had just said a random date and everyone had rolled with it – where Red made a powerpoint presentation full of bad jokes and one terrible font that presented all the progress Black had made, and why exactly they were a great crewmate, and Black cried very loudly.

Pink trying out the fancy brushes their parents had gave them a long time ago, and hanging the painting in their bedroom – just a simple close-up of Black’s favorite succulent, with soft lighting and blurred edges.

The boredom of the cold season being chased away by Purple’s relentless love for boards game, cards game, and every type of game, even hide and seek, and everyone going along for the sake of it, but secretly enjoying themselves.

Green singing their first personal composition to the crew, unusually nervous, and Blue hyping them up like a true groupie.

The end of the cold season and the beginning of what Purple called “spring”, and their first breakfast on the patio since five months.

Pebbles the cat disappearing for a week, causing multiple heartbreaks, and returning one night with a bunch of kittens in tow that Cyan immediately named Rock, Stone and Boulder.

Yellow finally remembering to ask White why the Outpost was abandoned by MIRA, and White saying, very calmly, “oh, hostile wildlife”, explaining indirectly why Blue and Pink had a very scary encounter with a gigantic creature that was apparently a “bear”.

Purple deciding to name some constellations after the crew – after all, MIRA wasn’t here to tell them what to do – and Green insisting on getting the biggest constellation that existed because, quote unquote, “I’m the tallest of the group, apart from Black, but they are an impostor so that’s technically cheating”.

Black and Pink having a picnic date near the torrent, and disappearing for approximately six hours, leading Yellow to go look for them, and seeing them having sex in the middle of a meadow, which was very embarrassing, especially for Yellow, and they made the two lovebirds swear after that incident to _always_ warn the crew whenever they decided to go “frolicking”.

Blue and Purple having a very intense debate over the merit of the monomyth’s theory, and everyone being surprised when Purple actually got angry and stormed off, leading Blue to come to the Observatory with a cup of tea and an apology mixed with a few jokes that made Purple smile against their will.

White sharing recipes with Black and becoming the second chef of the Outpost, a spot that was deeply coveted by Lime, and Lime pouting for three days straight before Black offered them a badge made out of cardboard that said “best kitchen assistant ever”.

Blue and Green finding nicknames for everyone : Nerd (Purple), Eurydice (Black), Mom 1 (Yellow), Mom 2 (Red), Mom 3 (Orange), Kiddo (Lime), Sunshine (White), Little Bear (Pink) and Punk (Cyan).

Lime and Blue pulling the worst pranks possible on the crew, and getting away with it every time, because Yellow was too damn tired to punish them, and even if they had wanted, what kind of punishment was available, uh?

Life was good, and Pink often said they had all the time in the world to do what they wanted, which was true, but Yellow often responded that it wasn’t a good excuse to not do the dishes.

* * *

_It glows at night_ _It's just a start  
We're holding on  
We're staying strong_

_We won't collide  
We won't divide  
We like to keep  
Some places wild._

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> 1) Me: okay I need to focus on the numerous plot holes and get everyone closure and…  
> Also me: let’s write 16k words of pure fluff because they deserve it
> 
> 2) I struggled a lot with the fixer upper aspect of this fic tbh. I don’t know anything about renovations!!! I study cinema!!! So I improvised, and I think it shows, but well. Suspension of disbelief and all that jazz, you know? 
> 
> 3) Yes, I really build the Outpost in the sims. No, I don’t have a life (but we are on lockdown so nobody has a life rn). If you are curious I can probably post some pics somewhere?  
> UPDATE: now with [pics](https://simstufs.tumblr.com/post/636159222613147648/some-pics-of-the-outpost-i-built-lol-sorry-for-the)
> 
> 4) I did not invent Lime’s poem lmao I suck at poetry, so I stole one of my favorite poems by Paul Eluard. It’s from Capital of Pain, it’s called “Le plus jeune” (“The Youngest”) and it’s about a kid watching the world upside down. It’s really beautiful, and I highly recommend it if you can find it in English, or if you read French! 
> 
> 5) The game they play, “Devils in the Valleys”, that Black “invented” is just a rip-off of a game called “The Werewolves of Thierceleux”. I believe the English version is called “Town of Salem” or something like that? Very fun game, but it can and will ruin friendship
> 
> 6) Not pictured in this fic but it was very tempting: Yellow coming into Blue’s bedroom to ask them something and finding Blue lying seductively on the bed with rose petals and smooth jazz music in the backroom, like that scene in ATLA. Yellow walked out of the room immediately and they never talked about it. 
> 
> 7) Last but not least: don't hesitate to tell me if you liked it! Or if you didn't, doesn't really matter, I love constructive criticism <3


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